Dare to dream

I'm still thinking about 'afterwards', where I'll go, what I'll do and who I'll be and a recent comment on here made me think about how angry and upset I was when I realised that all the things we'd planned were never going to happen.  However the further along this road I've travelled the more I've changed and I know now that there are things waiting for me which I'd never have dared to do before.  I am more capable, more confident and more adventurous than I've ever been in my life and I think now that if everything had come to an end on that diagnosis day, if I'd had the chance to go and do whatever I wanted there and then, I would have missed so much.  Everything happens for a reason so I have a feeling that with my new self as a travelling companion I might revisit my adventure list, revise it, re-order it and maybe add some destinations I would never have considered before.  There are some caveats to any prospective destinations of course: I need to be able to shower daily; I need to have access to clean clothes, if not every day then at least every other day; I need a certain degree of comfort, all of which would have gone hand in hand with any previous list but now I think it might not be so important to speak the language, to get my head around the currency, to know exactly where I was going next.  I think I might have relaxed a little and I'm sure that without dementia in my life I wouldn't have come this far.

I know that none of us can tell when we'll be able to do any of this and I understand that some of us are further on in life than others but if you think you won't have time to do all the things you want to do why not just choose the biggest and the best and start to plan for that one trip, that one thing you've always wanted to do but never had the chance?  Watch travel programmes, look stuff up, work out the level of comfort you need and have that plan in place.  Once you've got the detail down you can tweak it, change it to whatever you need to do depending on where you are in life when you're finally able to take off.  It might not be what you planned a few years ago but what you end up doing might be so much better than your original dream.  I'm going to start drawing up a whole new list now and then set it against the old one and see how different it is.  Why don't you do the same?  It would be lovely to hear how you get on, what your plans are and how far you too have come.

Don't forget you can sign up to have this delivered straight into your inbox, just remember to click on the validation email (which may be in your junk mail/trash box).  You can share specific posts with others by clicking on the 3 dots at the top right hand corner of the page, you can share the blog by copying and pasting the web address www.memoryfortwo.com or you can email me at memoryfortwo@gmail.com if you have anything you want to say privately.  You can also now follow me on twitter, just search for Memory For Two, and you can find me on facebook https://www.facebook.com/Memory-for-Two-287197572048864.

Comments

Carol S. said…
I took early retirement at 54 and we got dogs. Since then we have rediscovered the joys of holidaying in the UK , usually self catering cottages. I really love these holidays and don’t really miss going to more far flung places. However, I have raised the idea of buying a camper van several times but it’s fallen on deaf ears. I’d especially like to explore wild quite isolated places - perhaps the North of Scotland and the Islands beyond. Although I’m not really into long term planning Jane - there’s the seed of an idea I could come back to later - and I reckon I have friends and a sister who would be up for taking to the open road and making it up as we go along - following the weather no doubt.
Jane said…
nothing wrong with having ideas to come back to. I'm currently working my way through Susan Calman's 'Secret Scotland' on Channel 5. She's visiting some very remote places - or at least the episodes I've watched are fairly remote and it's inspired me to think about a Scottish road trip at some point. It does look beautiful.
Carol S. said…
Thanks. Missed that - will try and catch up with it. Have recorded Grand Tours of Scotland but not watched it yet.